


Helmsman

by niennatelrunya



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Character Study, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-13
Updated: 2012-02-13
Packaged: 2017-10-31 03:25:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/339346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/niennatelrunya/pseuds/niennatelrunya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mycroft Holmes is the most indispensable man in Britain and practically no one knows his name.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Helmsman

**Author's Note:**

  * For [goldvermilion87](https://archiveofourown.org/users/goldvermilion87/gifts).



Helmsman

0

ACD on Mycroft Holmes

_"He has an extraordinary faculty for figures, and audits the books in some of the government departments. . . ."_ The Greek interpreter by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

0

_"You told me that he had some small office under the British government."_

_Holmes chuckled._

_"I did not know you quite so well in those days. One has to be discreet when one talks of high matters of state. You are right in thinking that he is under the British government. You would also be right in a sense if you said that occasionally he IS the British government."_

_"My dear Holmes!"_

_"I thought I might surprise you. Mycroft draws four hundred and fifty pounds a year, remains a subordinate, has no ambitions of any kind, will receive neither honour nor title, but remains the most indispensable man in the country. . . . All other men are specialists, but his specialism is omniscience."_ \- The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans (ACD)

0

0

Technically, he's an accountant,

_(he picks up a pen and the numbers dance for him)_

a minor official in the British government.

_(resides in Pall Mall. Content with his small wage. But then, anyone with his skills should have no difficulty making money)_

All men have their specialty. Mycroft Holmes's specialty is omniscience.

_(knowledge is power, friend)_

 

He cannot raise taxes (directly) or declare war (officially) or pass laws (exactly). But he'll give his advice when asked, and no one who has taken his advice before will refuse it, and no one who has refused it once will do so again.

There is no one to chronicle his achievements. No blogger - even if his work weren't top secret. As far as the world knows, he is a footnote in the story of his younger brother.

The world. Mycroft understands the world. It is a vast ocean, sometimes calm, frequently turbulent. Countries are ships and the H.M.S. Britannia is magnificent. She has a captain (the P.M.), a figurehead (H.R.H.), boatswain (Parliament), crew (civil servants) and sixty-two million passengers. Soldiers man her cannons and journalists record her every maneuver.

The ocean rocks the H.M.S. Britannia as she sails forth, sails billowing. Sometimes other ships attack or she attacks them. Sometimes she sends out lifeboats - and sometimes these lifeboats eventually become ships of their own: the H.M.S. Canada, H.M.S. Australia, U.S.S. America. Sometimes there are pirates. Sometimes ambitious ships try to maneuver her with their bows, or ambitious politicians dive into the water to push her by hand, kicking their ineffectual feet until the ocean swallows them.

Mycroft Holmes sees it all. He stands at the wheel, barely touching it. Mostly, he watches. But now and again, he'll shift his hands slightly or give a firm tug. Very occasionally, he will stand back and watch it spin, for sometimes there is nothing even the most extraordinary man can do against such a storm. So he takes cover and waits, infinitely patient. When the storm breaks, he'll be back, guiding his ship, guarding his country.

None of the passengers know his name, few of the crew. He might as well be invisible. But no man lives forever and one day - one day, the wheel will spin, and there'll be no one there to catch it.


End file.
